Musk Calls USAID a Criminal Organization That 'Needs to Die'

American entrepreneur Elon Musk called the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) a criminal organization and said it was time for it to die. He wrote about this on his X page.

"USAID is a criminal organization. It's time for it to die," the post reads.

This is how the businessman responded to the publication that two officials of the organization were dismissed after refusing to provide members of the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), headed by Musk, access to USAID systems.

Musk later posted a message again calling USAID a criminal organization, this time in response to a post by Mike Benz, executive DIRECTOR of the Freedom on the Internet Foundation (FFO). FFO is an online rights watchdog group that advocates for an open internet.

In his post, Benz wrote that he had been broadcasting live about USAID's activities, in particular its "key role in the Central Intelligence Agency's fraudulent activities."

In another post, Musk asked his followers: “Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax money , funded bioweapons research , including covid-19 , which has killed millions of people?” He provided no evidence to support his claims.

US President Donald Trump , in turn, told reporters at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington that “USAID is run by radical lunatics, and we’re taking them out and then we’ll make a decision.” According to The Wall Street Journal and NPR, USAID has placed some employees on unpaid leave due to suspicions of trying to circumvent the president’s order or has terminated contracts.

On January 20, Trump signed an executive order freezing USAID international aid programs for 90 days. During this time, it is planned to evaluate their "effectiveness and compliance with the foreign policy of the United States." In 2023, $42.5 billion was allocated through USAID. American aid through USAID went, among other things, to Ukraine.

USAID's website had previously gone down. CNN reported that it was taken down on Saturday, February 1, without explanation. Democrats in Congress are concerned that Trump could end USAID as an independent agency and transfer it to the State Department. They insist that the Republican has no legal authority to eliminate the congressionally funded agency and that its work is vital to national security, the channel notes.

USAID's X social media account is also unavailable. "This account does not exist," the agency's page says.

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